.co.uk French avant-pop duo Air's third album is the soundtrack to the Sofia Coppola movie about a brace of teenage sisters whose beauty mesmerises the local boys and whose suicides devastate the community. It's a Gothic, faintly silly romantic fantasy about lust for the unattainable, and Air's enigmatic "pure pop" treatment is the perfect musical backdrop. Tracks like "Playground Love" and "Highschool Lover" are deceptively candy-coated pieces of puppy lover's pop, all sighing saxophones and dippy keyboards, while "Bathroom Girl" is a slo-mo vision of beauty. With the spookier synth pulses and black vibes of "Cemetery Party" and "Dark Messages", however, Air get to signal the weirder undercurrents of the movie, while "Dead Bodies" is a full-on Gothic wig-out complete with a sisterly choir from beyond the grave. --David Stubbs
J**E
Air - "The Virgin Suicides"
The band's sound is very characteristic, being more introspective, a mysterious tone and quite instrumental. It's that kind of music to relax the mind, rest. There are many variations, giving the idea of a complete, concise, integrated work. The tone is calm. In this album there are some narratives as well. This album although a soundtrack, reminiscent of the the other album of the band "Moon Safari". Valid! Note 7.5.
V**6
Five Stars
Beautiful vinyl pressing, excellent sound on 180g remastered vinyl.
T**Y
Four Stars
good
V**N
beautiful
a perfect soundtrack conceived by air for the beautiful movie the virgin suicidesnow including a live version in a deluxe card sleeve
M**.
Excellent value
Excellent value and brilliant album
U**N
Mood moderator
I bought this album right after watching the movie. It creates a certain atmosphere and is definitely as far as you can get from a hit parade. Almost entirely instrumental and almost meditative. I have mostly listened to it as I wake up in the morning 20-30 minutes of lazy listening in the twilight zone as I regain consciousness. Very enjoyable time of my day. Like it.
J**A
Five Stars
A great and beautiful boxset. If you have the chance to buy it, you wouldn't regret!
S**N
Haunting
Only recently have I become attracted to electronica, and even then I refer electronica that piques one's interests; something that blends into other genres.This soundtrack is mesmerising, and though I've never seen the film, having read what happens I can imagine it working perfectly in tandem. I was directed to this album through a different source, that being Q Magazine's review of Lana Del Rey's debut album. That review pointed out that this soundtrack's haunting yet disturbingly romantic themes can be heard as an influence on Del Rey's album, and I definitely agree.Air created a stunning album in the form of this soundtrack, and I highly recommend it.
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